Clipping Board » Medical Affairs and Administration ─ Medical system, pharmaceuticals, and medical community-related reports
United Daily News / Reporter Chen Huihui / Taipei Report】 2009.12.30 05:52 am
A major scandal has erupted in the medical community, where a group colluded with doctors to switch medical specimens and perform mastectomies and rectal surgeries on healthy individuals to fraudulently claim insurance payouts, potentially exceeding one billion NT dollars. Over ten hospitals were involved. In a rare move before court rulings, the Department of Health (DOH) announced the revocation of medical licenses for three implicated physicians.
Wu Delang, chairman of the Taiwan Hospital Association, stated that the medical profession values discipline and ethics, and should severely punish such "black sheep" and scoundrels within their ranks.
This marks the first time the DOH has imposed its harshest penalty of revoking medical licenses. The DOH’s Medical Affairs Department admitted that the most severe punishment in the past was suspension of practice, and no medical licenses had been revoked in the past four years. Once a license is revoked, the individual is permanently barred from practicing medicine.
According to the Criminal Investigation Bureau’s Fourth Division, the Fu Jiansen group, since 2003, conspired with doctors and fake patients to switch specimens, falsely diagnosing healthy individuals with cancer and performing unnecessary rectal, breast, uterine, and ovarian removal surgeries. Doctors Yang Chaoran from Keelung Hospital, Lai Dexing from Yiren General Hospital in Taoyuan County, and Wu Guojing from St. Joseph’s Hospital in Yunlin County have confessed to the crimes, with conclusive evidence. The DOH decided to revoke their licenses.
DOH Minister Yang Zhiliang, along with Taiwan Medical Association Chairman Li Mingbin and Hospital Association Chairman Wu Delang, disclosed that besides the three doctors, seven patients were involved—four underwent partial mastectomies, breast biopsies, or chemotherapy, two received chemotherapy, and ringleader Fu Jiansen himself underwent rectal surgery and chemotherapy.
The case is expected to expand further, with four more doctors under investigation. The implicated hospitals include both public and private institutions, ranging from medical centers to regional hospitals, making this the largest-scale scandal of its kind. Yang Zhiliang expressed "deep sorrow" and, despite ongoing investigations and pending court rulings, emphasized the need to uphold the medical profession’s dignity by revoking the accused doctors’ licenses.
Shi Chongliang, director of the DOH’s Medical Affairs Department, noted that past physician misconduct typically involved falsifying diagnostic reports, such as Barthel Index assessments, but never intentional harm to patients. In this case, doctors switched specimens and even mixed formaldehyde-preserved cancer patients’ samples with healthy ones to justify surgeries and chemotherapy.
Source: http://udn. com/ NEWS/ NATIONAL/ NATS1/ 5337075. shtml
United Evening News / Reporter Huang Yufang / Taipei Report
December 30, 2009, 03:49 AM
This "fake cancer, real surgery" fraud scheme exploited the medical expertise of hospital attending physicians. The Criminal Investigation Bureau discovered that the involved physicians mixed cancer specimens from other patients into the samples of the implicated patients and soaked the tissue specimens in formaldehyde to evade DNA testing, attempting to deceive authorities.
In recent years, an expanded investigation by the Criminal Investigation Bureau revealed that this fraud ring had been meticulously planned for a long time. Fake patients purchased large-sum cancer or critical illness insurance policies, after which the attending physicians, during surgeries, mixed cancer tissue specimens from other patients into the samples of the involved patients and sent them to the pathology department. The physicians then issued false diagnostic certificates, enabling the implicated individuals to claim tens of millions in insurance payouts.
To prevent the swapped cancer tissue specimens from being exposed through DNA testing, the involved physicians pre-treated the specimens with formaldehyde to damage the tissue, making detection possible only through advanced DNA testing.
However, the law enforcement efforts proved even more sophisticated. The Criminal Investigation Bureau specifically sent the specimens to Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taiwan’s most authoritative institution for mitochondrial DNA testing. By analyzing mitochondrial mt-DNA, it was confirmed that the cancer tissues did not belong to the implicated patients.
Since cancer cells cannot be identified with the naked eye, the Department of Health believes that other assisting physicians and medical staff involved in the surgeries were likely unaware of the fraud. Wu Der-Rong, chairman of the Hospital Association, also stated that preliminary findings suggest the hospitals were kept in the dark and were also victims. To uphold the dignity of the medical profession, he supports the Department of Health’s decision to impose the strictest penalties on the involved physicians.
[2009/12/29 United Evening News] @ http://udn. com/
Source: http://udn. com/ NEWS/ NATIONAL/ NATS1/ 5337381. shtml
【United Evening News╱Reporter Huang Yufang】 December 30, 2009 03:49 am
Doctors, traditionally regarded as high-income and high-status professionals, have shockingly become accomplices of fraud rings. Wu Delang, chairman of the Hospital Association, described them as "scum of the medical profession" and expressed deep dismay. However, he also emphasized that hospitals should use this incident to review whether their internal management is too lax and must strengthen physicians' discipline and ethical awareness.
Today, the Department of Health held a special press conference chaired by the Minister, inviting two prominent figures in the medical field—Wu Delang and Li Mingbin, chairman of the National Union of Doctors' Associations—to attend. The aim was to root out the black sheep in the medical community and urge healthcare institutions and professionals to take this incident as a warning.
Despite facing healthy individuals without cancer, the implicated doctors, driven by personal gain, unethically performed surgeries and chemotherapy, disregarding the severe toxicity of chemotherapy drugs and the harm they inflict on healthy people. They blatantly ignored the professional and moral duty of physicians to heal and save lives. Wu Delang solemnly stated that these doctors are "scum."
Nevertheless, Wu Delang also believes that hospital management systems must be thoroughly reviewed. Today, the Hospital Association formally issued a notice urging all hospitals to strengthen internal process management, improve specimen delivery protocols, and enforce signature verification to prevent unscrupulous doctors from falsifying records. At the same time, physicians themselves must enhance their understanding of discipline and ethics. However, Wu Delang noted that this is a "high-level" issue and "cannot be achieved overnight."
【2009/12/29 United Evening News】@ http://udn. com/
Source: http://udn. com/ NEWS/ NATIONAL/ NATS1/ 5337383. shtml
United Daily News / Reporter Chen Huihui / Taipei Report
December 30, 2009, 03:49 AM
High-socioeconomic-status physicians actually colluded with fake cancer patients to fraudulently claim huge insurance payouts. Hospital Association Chairman Wu Delang described them as "scum among doctors." He said that Minister Yang Zhiliang informed him of the incident recently, adding, "I feel extremely distressed."
Yang Zhiliang and Wu Delang held a press conference yesterday along with Taiwan Medical Association Chairman Li Mingbin. Li Mingbin stated that if the allegations are true, these doctors not only violated medical ethics but also broke the law. Wu Delang emphasized the need to thoroughly review hospital management systems. The Hospital Association will issue notices to all medical institutions to strengthen internal controls and ensure proper specimen management to prevent unscrupulous physicians from falsifying records.
For personal gain, the implicated physicians swapped specimens, performed surgeries, and administered chemotherapy on healthy individuals, disregarding the toxicity of chemotherapy drugs. The Department of Health described their actions as "heinous." Li Mingbin said that if the charges in the indictment are confirmed, these doctors have brought shame to the medical profession. He supports imposing the harshest penalties to rid the industry of such bad apples.
Wu Delang backed the DOH’s decision to impose the strictest penalties on the involved doctors. There is currently no evidence suggesting hospital involvement, and he believes this was purely the doctors’ personal misconduct, stressing that hospitals are also victims in this case.
Reporter Zhan Jianfu / Taipei Report
The Bureau of National Health Insurance (BNHI) stated that it will soon investigate whether the doctors involved in the insurance fraud case also falsified NHI claims. If evidence is found, illegal gains will be recovered, and double fines will be imposed, with the most severe penalty being a one-year suspension.
BNHI Audit Director Wu Wenwei noted that, to his knowledge, the Fu Jiansen crime group first colluded with individuals holding commercial insurance policies, then bribed medical staff to fabricate false medical records, exaggerating minor illnesses as serious ones.
[2009/12/30 United Daily News] @ http://udn. com/
Source: http://udn. com/ NEWS/ NATIONAL/ NATS1/ 5337028. shtml
Fake Cancer, Real Surgery: 3 Doctors Banned for Life
A major scandal has erupted in the medical community, where a group colluded with doctors to switch medical specimens and perform mastectomies and rectal surgeries on healthy individuals to fraudulently claim insurance payouts, potentially exceeding one billion NT dollars. Over ten hospitals were involved. In a rare move before court rulings, the Department of Health (DOH) announced the revocation of medical licenses for three implicated physicians.
Wu Delang, chairman of the Taiwan Hospital Association, stated that the medical profession values discipline and ethics, and should severely punish such "black sheep" and scoundrels within their ranks.
This marks the first time the DOH has imposed its harshest penalty of revoking medical licenses. The DOH’s Medical Affairs Department admitted that the most severe punishment in the past was suspension of practice, and no medical licenses had been revoked in the past four years. Once a license is revoked, the individual is permanently barred from practicing medicine.
According to the Criminal Investigation Bureau’s Fourth Division, the Fu Jiansen group, since 2003, conspired with doctors and fake patients to switch specimens, falsely diagnosing healthy individuals with cancer and performing unnecessary rectal, breast, uterine, and ovarian removal surgeries. Doctors Yang Chaoran from Keelung Hospital, Lai Dexing from Yiren General Hospital in Taoyuan County, and Wu Guojing from St. Joseph’s Hospital in Yunlin County have confessed to the crimes, with conclusive evidence. The DOH decided to revoke their licenses.
DOH Minister Yang Zhiliang, along with Taiwan Medical Association Chairman Li Mingbin and Hospital Association Chairman Wu Delang, disclosed that besides the three doctors, seven patients were involved—four underwent partial mastectomies, breast biopsies, or chemotherapy, two received chemotherapy, and ringleader Fu Jiansen himself underwent rectal surgery and chemotherapy.
The case is expected to expand further, with four more doctors under investigation. The implicated hospitals include both public and private institutions, ranging from medical centers to regional hospitals, making this the largest-scale scandal of its kind. Yang Zhiliang expressed "deep sorrow" and, despite ongoing investigations and pending court rulings, emphasized the need to uphold the medical profession’s dignity by revoking the accused doctors’ licenses.
Shi Chongliang, director of the DOH’s Medical Affairs Department, noted that past physician misconduct typically involved falsifying diagnostic reports, such as Barthel Index assessments, but never intentional harm to patients. In this case, doctors switched specimens and even mixed formaldehyde-preserved cancer patients’ samples with healthy ones to justify surgeries and chemotherapy.
Source: http://udn. com/ NEWS/ NATIONAL/ NATS1/ 5337075. shtml
Specimens Soaked in Formalin to Evade DNA Testing
December 30, 2009, 03:49 AM
This "fake cancer, real surgery" fraud scheme exploited the medical expertise of hospital attending physicians. The Criminal Investigation Bureau discovered that the involved physicians mixed cancer specimens from other patients into the samples of the implicated patients and soaked the tissue specimens in formaldehyde to evade DNA testing, attempting to deceive authorities.
In recent years, an expanded investigation by the Criminal Investigation Bureau revealed that this fraud ring had been meticulously planned for a long time. Fake patients purchased large-sum cancer or critical illness insurance policies, after which the attending physicians, during surgeries, mixed cancer tissue specimens from other patients into the samples of the involved patients and sent them to the pathology department. The physicians then issued false diagnostic certificates, enabling the implicated individuals to claim tens of millions in insurance payouts.
To prevent the swapped cancer tissue specimens from being exposed through DNA testing, the involved physicians pre-treated the specimens with formaldehyde to damage the tissue, making detection possible only through advanced DNA testing.
However, the law enforcement efforts proved even more sophisticated. The Criminal Investigation Bureau specifically sent the specimens to Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taiwan’s most authoritative institution for mitochondrial DNA testing. By analyzing mitochondrial mt-DNA, it was confirmed that the cancer tissues did not belong to the implicated patients.
Since cancer cells cannot be identified with the naked eye, the Department of Health believes that other assisting physicians and medical staff involved in the surgeries were likely unaware of the fraud. Wu Der-Rong, chairman of the Hospital Association, also stated that preliminary findings suggest the hospitals were kept in the dark and were also victims. To uphold the dignity of the medical profession, he supports the Department of Health’s decision to impose the strictest penalties on the involved physicians.
[2009/12/29 United Evening News] @ http://udn. com/
Source: http://udn. com/ NEWS/ NATIONAL/ NATS1/ 5337381. shtml
Alas! Even Doctors Succumb to Temptation of Wealth
Doctors, traditionally regarded as high-income and high-status professionals, have shockingly become accomplices of fraud rings. Wu Delang, chairman of the Hospital Association, described them as "scum of the medical profession" and expressed deep dismay. However, he also emphasized that hospitals should use this incident to review whether their internal management is too lax and must strengthen physicians' discipline and ethical awareness.
Today, the Department of Health held a special press conference chaired by the Minister, inviting two prominent figures in the medical field—Wu Delang and Li Mingbin, chairman of the National Union of Doctors' Associations—to attend. The aim was to root out the black sheep in the medical community and urge healthcare institutions and professionals to take this incident as a warning.
Despite facing healthy individuals without cancer, the implicated doctors, driven by personal gain, unethically performed surgeries and chemotherapy, disregarding the severe toxicity of chemotherapy drugs and the harm they inflict on healthy people. They blatantly ignored the professional and moral duty of physicians to heal and save lives. Wu Delang solemnly stated that these doctors are "scum."
Nevertheless, Wu Delang also believes that hospital management systems must be thoroughly reviewed. Today, the Hospital Association formally issued a notice urging all hospitals to strengthen internal process management, improve specimen delivery protocols, and enforce signature verification to prevent unscrupulous doctors from falsifying records. At the same time, physicians themselves must enhance their understanding of discipline and ethics. However, Wu Delang noted that this is a "high-level" issue and "cannot be achieved overnight."
【2009/12/29 United Evening News】@ http://udn. com/
Source: http://udn. com/ NEWS/ NATIONAL/ NATS1/ 5337383. shtml
Fake Cancer, Real Surgery: Outrageous
December 30, 2009, 03:49 AM
High-socioeconomic-status physicians actually colluded with fake cancer patients to fraudulently claim huge insurance payouts. Hospital Association Chairman Wu Delang described them as "scum among doctors." He said that Minister Yang Zhiliang informed him of the incident recently, adding, "I feel extremely distressed."
Yang Zhiliang and Wu Delang held a press conference yesterday along with Taiwan Medical Association Chairman Li Mingbin. Li Mingbin stated that if the allegations are true, these doctors not only violated medical ethics but also broke the law. Wu Delang emphasized the need to thoroughly review hospital management systems. The Hospital Association will issue notices to all medical institutions to strengthen internal controls and ensure proper specimen management to prevent unscrupulous physicians from falsifying records.
For personal gain, the implicated physicians swapped specimens, performed surgeries, and administered chemotherapy on healthy individuals, disregarding the toxicity of chemotherapy drugs. The Department of Health described their actions as "heinous." Li Mingbin said that if the charges in the indictment are confirmed, these doctors have brought shame to the medical profession. He supports imposing the harshest penalties to rid the industry of such bad apples.
Wu Delang backed the DOH’s decision to impose the strictest penalties on the involved doctors. There is currently no evidence suggesting hospital involvement, and he believes this was purely the doctors’ personal misconduct, stressing that hospitals are also victims in this case.
Reporter Zhan Jianfu / Taipei Report
The Bureau of National Health Insurance (BNHI) stated that it will soon investigate whether the doctors involved in the insurance fraud case also falsified NHI claims. If evidence is found, illegal gains will be recovered, and double fines will be imposed, with the most severe penalty being a one-year suspension.
BNHI Audit Director Wu Wenwei noted that, to his knowledge, the Fu Jiansen crime group first colluded with individuals holding commercial insurance policies, then bribed medical staff to fabricate false medical records, exaggerating minor illnesses as serious ones.
[2009/12/30 United Daily News] @ http://udn. com/
Source: http://udn. com/ NEWS/ NATIONAL/ NATS1/ 5337028. shtml